


two birds, one stone

by tsukitachinu



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: College AU, Dark Theme, Getting Together, M/M, Murder, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:07:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23359771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsukitachinu/pseuds/tsukitachinu
Summary: First bird; Mark wants Jeno to love him.Second bird; Mark wants Renjun to stop loving Jeno.
Relationships: Lee Jeno/Mark Lee
Comments: 18
Kudos: 48





	two birds, one stone

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fic inspired by [this song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLHAcAkdB8M)  
> and i tagged it in the tags but tw: murder/death
> 
> also it hasn't been beta-ed, and I may have missed grammatical/spelling mistakes, sorry

  
  
  
  
  
  
“ Jeno. “

Jeno was the name of the boy that was in Mark’s psychology class. Jeno was the name of the boy Mark always looked at for a little bit too long during classes. Jeno was the name of the boy Mark thought outside of classes too.  _ Jeno  _ was what Mark’s best friend, Renjun, replied when he was asked who he had a crush on.

Mark was a good friend, so he bottled it up. He had bottled it up for years now, he remembered seeing him in high school, observing him whenever he could, because damn the boy was cute, and smart. So, so smart. But Renjun had talked about loving him before Mark could act on it or even show any sign of it. Mark loved him for way longer though, but he loved Renjun even more and did not want to make his friend feel sad. 

“ Mark. “

That’s what Mark replied to Jeno when he asked what his name was after offering to partner up for a psychology assignment. Mark didn’t pursue him behind Renjun’s back, Jeno came to him. It was all fair game. It was not his fault that Jeno asked to be his partner, specifically. It was not his fault if Jeno liked to tousle his hair whenever Mark said something silly. It was definitely not his fault that Jeno sent him texts at 2am. 

Was it his fault that he did replied ? Was it his fault that he did giggle ? Was it his fault that he did agree ? Probably.

Renjun was not mad at him though, he believed his best friend when he said that it was just school work and promised he would be his wingman. 

But Mark continued to hang out with Jeno even after their assignment was handed over. They kept meeting in cute coffee shops, going for walks, going on hikes.

He didn’t tell Renjun about it though, he didn’t want to hurt him and jeopardize their friendship.

He’d rather lie.

The lies were easy at first, because they weren’t even actual lies but omissions. It wasn’t lying if he kept his mouth shut about meeting up with Jeno and being in love with him for years.

But then Mark forgot about Renjun, he was way too captivated by Jeno and dived in the casual flirting until he was too deep in his eyes and could not resurface anymore. He couldn’t come back from it, he liked going out with him too much, he liked when he complimented him too much, he liked feeling his hand in his too much, he liked how he made him feel okay too much.

He felt valid when he was with him. 

He felt like being himself was okay, that he didn’t have to hide. He noticed that Jeno was just like him, but was good at hiding it, so Mark decided that he will keep hinting at it, smile knowingly whenever he made an inside joke, but never bluntly talk about it. 

He wanted to keep his secret.

He’d rather lie.

But was it really lying to say “i’m going out with a friend” when it was the reality ? Sure he kept his mouth shut about who the friend was, but was it lying not to say the full truth ? 

Mark thought this wasn’t hundred percent lying, so when he came back after what felt like an actual date, to his shared dorm with Renjun, he didn’t tell him anything. He just said he went by the river with a friend and left it at that, and then he let Renjun talk about the new picture Jeno posted on instagram, and about how gorgeous he was, and how cute, and how he’d squish his cheeks if he could, without telling him that he was the one squishing his cheeks right before the photo was taken.

When Jeno asked him on a proper date, he didn’t tell Renjun either. It was his first proper date of college and he didn’t tell his best friend, because he didn’t want to make him sad but he didn’t want to be sad either by saying no. 

So he’d rather lie.

But was it really lying to say “i’m going out with a friend” when he was actually going out ? Sure he twisted the reality a bit because it wasn’t a friendly hangout anymore, it was a proper date, but was it lying to not disclose everything ? 

Lies weren’t that easy after saying so many. “I’m going to the library to study !” and then getting a 24/100, “I’m going to my mom’s!” and not bringing any leftovers, “I feel like working out” and gaining on weight. The lies were piling up but not adding up, and Mark was really close to making a mistake. The lies became a big part of his life and it was hard navigating through them, which one did he tell Renjun ? Which one did he tell his mom ? Which one to his study group ? Which one to Jeno ? His head was spinning from all the lies, it was like they took each other’s hand and decided to round dance in his head, singing and dancing.

Headache, that’s what his relationship gave him. Wait. No. That’s what his relationship with Renjun gave him. His relationship with Jeno only gave him red cheeks and a butterflied belly. His relationship with Renjun was the problem.

Day after day, Mark was surer of that, and he tried to think about how he should deal with it. Maybe dropping the Jeno bomb on him would suffice ? Maybe if he was heartbroken enough he’d want Mark as far away from him as possible and terminate their friendship ? But what if it’s not enough ? Should Mark be mean on purpose ? Should he act jealous that Renjun is crushing on his boyfriend and act like a mad jealous boyfriend to scare him away ? 

He didn’t know yet, and didn’t want to mess it up so he decided to wait, and keep the lies for now. 

He was dating Jeno.

And the Lies too.

But the one Lie he was dating the most was to act like he didn’t notice what Jeno was really about. Like he didn’t notice him staying longer in Mark’s dorm right when Mark said “you should go, Renjun’s coming home soon”, him going around the art building when they go for lunch, when there’s a thousand other possible itineraries. Mark was sure Jeno wanted Renjun to find out about them. But that wasn’t the lie itself, the Lie resided in other small details, in him extending his leg a little longer at the exact moment someone was going to pass in front of them when they sat together, in him letting people say mean things to him as a joke just to hit them back with the meanest blackest glare ever, in him having a passion for killing bugs. 

Jeno wanting Renjun to find out about them was not from the kindness of his heart, it was not from him wanting Renjun to know so they can be public and Renjun can move on.

Jeno wanting Renjun to find out about them was from the sadisticness of his heart, it was about crushing his heart in the most brutal way. 

It was like killing a bug between his fingers.

Mark noticed this about him since the first day in high school, there wasn’t any clue back then but he felt it, he connected with him. Mark had always felt like something was wrong within him, like his heart could not be satisfied in the same ways as others. 

When he met Jeno, they clicked. He knows Jeno felt the same, he said it to him once, “I noticed you a long time ago, I felt like we’d get along well”. Mark had no doubt that when he said ‘long time ago’ he meant in high school, and when he said ‘get along’ he meant having the same darkness inside.

So, Mark was pretending not to notice this side of his boyfriend, while trying to make him notice that he was just like him, but not too much because he didn’t want anyone else to notice his true self. 

Lying was hard. 

But when he understood how Jeno was acting about Renjun, he got an idea; he will kill two birds with one stone. 

He will show Jeno that he loves him for who he truly is, show him that they’re the same, and get rid of Renjun and the lies that give him migraines. 

He didn’t need much for his plan, he needed a drink, and a call.

Part 1 of ‘’kill two birds with one stone’’ plan ; the drink.

Mark went home, greeted Renjun and let him ramble about his day as usual, while going to their small kitchen to prepare two drinks. One for himself, and one for Renjun. Which he gave him while sitting on his bed so they could talk more casually, like they used to a few months earlier. 

“What is it ?”

“Coca-Cola.”

Mark wasn’t totally lying this time, there was actual Coca-Cola in it, but there was also ajax. And he watched his former best friend drink it after they said “cheer!” in a lame way, he watched Renjun drink it all.

Then he broke the glass, and used whatever object was close to break it in very thin pieces, to get rid of the evidence. And he applied Renjun’s fingerprints and lips on his own glass so that if the police did any investigation they would find both their fingerprints on the glass - mark would say he gave him the drink - and nothing but soda in it. What’s remaining of Renjun’s actual glass went through the pipes.

Part 2 of the “kill two birds with one stone” plan; the call.

Mark called 911, explaining that he went to the bathroom and when he came back his best friend was lying on his bed, unresponding. He cried too, a lie, again, and once the policemen came over, he replied to their questions with his best acting skills, he went with them willingly to the police station but asked to call his mom who said not to talk without a lawyer because she didn’t trust cops..

And when he got cleared, he called Jeno. 

Jeno came quickly, looking really sorry and soft and took him in his arms as soon as he saw Mark. He hugged him tightly, caressed his hair, his back, tried to comfort him.

But Mark knew it was all an act.

“I did it.” he whispered into his ear.

Jeno was a really good actor because he faked looking scandalised about it, but Mark knew better, he knew he didn’t care about Renjun and was happy about the gift Mark gave him. He got rid of Renjun, and showed Jeno he was just like him.

But as the seconds flew by, and Jeno stepped away from Mark’s embrace, looking horrified and disgusted, Mark began to understood that he misread the situation. Jeno had never been like him. Jeno was like all the others, like the Renjuns of the world.

Mark felt really sad at this moment, lonely even. 

When he thought he had finally found someone who could understand him, he was betrayed.

Had he only been dating the Lies all along ? 

Jeno seemed to understand that Mark wouldn’t hurt him, and ran away, while Mark called his mom to pick him up, “I can’t sleep where he died mom !”. This time it wasn’t a lie,although he didn’t care emotionally, he didn’t want to sleep where a dude had just died, it wasn’t proper hygiene.

Mark never told the truth to his mom. He never told her about Jeno, never told her about the times he dreamt of putting his hands around the neighbour’s throat, never told her about Renjun. But a mom tends to know things, to sense them, and she has a “Mark sense” as she calls it. She never said anything either, she lied, like her son, and pretended she didn’t notice the way his eyes glittered whenever there was violence on the TV, pretended she didn’t notice the thin smile - as if he was repressing a smile showing that he was remembering good memories - when he hears about the Renjun case. 

Because he is her son, and she still loves him somehow. 

Not enough to hug him anymore, but sufficiently not to turn him in. 

But she had a semblance of conscience and started to think about making Mark see a psychiatrist, join a support group, and one day she gave him a booklet and told him to think about it. On the front page there was a support group for people who had lost a dear one, which Mark found it was really in bad taste.

However, In one of the pages, in a corner, written in small characters, there was another support group, one that spoke to Mark more authentically

“Criminal Anonymous”.

**Author's Note:**

> In no case I condemn what my characters do, ofc !
> 
> Also, it's the first one shot based in the "criminal anonymous" universe i'm trying to build, so (in theory) there will be more to come ! like the avengers except that they're bad people.


End file.
